Patriots Journal: Pats turn up the heat on Geno Smith

FOXBORO — The Patriots treated Geno Smith differently than they did EJ Manuel.

Comment

By
PAUL KENYON
Posted Sep. 12, 2013 @ 11:10 pm

FOXBORO — The Patriots treated Geno Smith differently than they did EJ Manuel.

At Buffalo, New England barely blitzed at all. It was one of only two teams not to have a sack in week one. It was very different against the Jets.

The Pats became much more aggressive against New York and the defense made it work.

Rookie Michael Buchanan had the team’s first sack of the season in the second quarter. Chandler Jones, who at times lined up inside rather than his usual defensive end spot, had sacks two and three before halftime.

Tommy Kelly added a sack in the third quarter.

The Pats began the game in the same 4-2-5 defensive alignment they used for most of the game in Buffalo. That included Kyle Arrington as the inside cornerback and Alfonzo Dennard and Aqib Talib on the outside.

When the Jets began their second possession, New England went back to the more traditional 4-3 with Brandon Spikes coming on.

In Bill we trust

Bill Belichick will be staying on as Patriots coach for the foreseeable future, it was reported Thursday night by the NFL Network.

[pats-expectations-poll.html]

The network, which is televising the game, said Belichick has reworked his contract. He signed a new deal in 2007, which was due to expire at the end of this season. The Patriots do not discuss Belichick’s contract, but Ian Rapoport, a former Patriots beat writer who now works for the NFL Network, tweeted that the deal has been extended.

“He’ll be coaching for a long time,” Rapoport said of the 61-year-old coach. There was no information on how long new contract was extended.

Review helps Pats

The NFL rule requiring that all scoring plays be reviewed saved the Patriots four points in the first quarter.

The Jets, down 10-0, put together a nice drive that reached the New England red zone. The Jets faced third-and-7 from the 9. Smith

went back to pass and had tons of time as the Pats rushed only three men. Smith scrambled and eventually fired toward Clyde Gates, just inside the end zone.

Gates went down and appeared the make the catch of a low throw just off the ground with Jerod Mayo guarding him. The two rolled over and ended up outside the end zone.

It was ruled a touchdown. However, the mandatory review showed that Gates had lost possession of the ball. Thus it was incomplete and the Jets had to settle for a field goal by Nick Folk. The teams went into halftime with New England leading, 13-3.

Bruschi praised

Thursday evening was Tedy Bruschi Night.

The former linebacker, who was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in July, was recognized as the “consummate Patriot,” as he was called by owner Robert Kraft, and the “perfect player” as coach Belichick described him. Gil Santos, the longtime voice of the Pats, who also was inducted into the team Hall of Fame, served as an honorary team captain before the game.

Bruschi joins Drew Bledsoe and Troy Brown as the only players to be inducted in their first year of eligibility.

Bombing victims honored

There was an emotional moment before the game when the Patriots honored victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

About 20 men and women, including Newport’s Heather Abbott, were introduced and came on the field, many with the help of crutches and/or artificial limbs. Abbott lost part of her left leg in the bombing.

Everyone was wearing Patriots jerseys with the number one. Team president Jonathan Kraft greeted everyone at midfield. The theme was “Boston Strong.”

Injury line

The Patriots receiving corps was short-handed for the game, as expected.

In addition to being without Shane Vereen, who has been placed on the inactive list with a broken wrist, Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski and Zach Sudfeld were all inactive. Also inactive were running back Brandon Bolden, lineman Will Svitek, linebacker Steve Beauharnais and defensive lineman Chris Jones, who was signed this week.

The positive news at that position was that Aaron Dobson, who missed the opener with a hamstring problem and was listed as questionable heading into the Jets game, was active. Nate Ebner, Duron Harmon, Leon Washington and Matthew Slater, all of whom were listed as questionable, also were in uniform.

For what it’s worth, the receiving corps the last time the Patriots played a regular-season game at Gillette included Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Danny Woodhead, Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

The Jets were without one of their top receivers, Jeremy Kerley (concussion), defensive lineman Quinton Coples (ankle) and quarterback Mark Sanchez (right shoulder), guard Will Campbell and tackles Ben Ijalana and Oday Aboushi.

The NFL Network reported before the game that Amendola’s injury would keep him out of action for anywhere from two to six weeks. It also reported that the Patriots were hoping to have Gronkowski back for the Tampa Bay game next week, but that it was more likely that he would wait until game four in Atlanta.

Back-to-back rookies

The Patriots became the first team since the AFL-NLF merger in 1970 to face rookie quarterbacks in the first two weeks.